A common occurrence in recent times is for watercraft to be configured with water sport towers. The tower extends up from the gunwales of the watercraft and are joined together over a central portion of the watercraft. An attachment point (or points) are generally provided at an uppermost portion of the tower. This attachment point is utilized for attaching tow ropes to enhance the experience enjoyed by those being towed behind the watercraft.
Most commonly, such towers are collapsible so that the tower does not always extend up high when not in use. For instance, such collapsibility can be beneficial when towing the boat, when storing the boat in a storage building (e.g. a garage) and when it is necessary for the watercraft to fit under an overhead structure (e.g. a low bridge over a waterway).
To keep the tower stable and also facilitate such collapsing, some towers have a two point mounting system that secures the lower end of the tower to the starboard gunwale at two points and to the port gunwale at two points. These two points include a pivoting support and a removably attachable support. The tower is pivotably attachable to the watercraft at the pivoting support and removably attachable to the watercraft at the removable attachment point. Details of such a tower are shown in U.S. Pat. No. RE37,823, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety
The further these two points are spaced apart, the more evenly the load can be distributed between these two points. Such spacing helps to minimize the strength requirements that must be built into the tower and portions of the watercraft adjacent these support points. However, such spacing is undesirable when the tower is collapsed. The removably attachable support point of the tower moves upward while the tower pivots about the pivoting support. Thus, the degree of overall collapsibility is diminished and the collapsed tower still adds significant height to the watercraft. Other towers have a single point mounting on either side of the watercraft.
Furthermore, with prior art collapsible towers the strength required to raise and lower the tower is substantial and can present an obstacle to raising and lower the tower. Furthermore, such collapsible towers often rest upon other portions of the watercraft, such as the windshield or other portions of the watercraft. The tower often vibrates or bounces undesirably potentially damaging the watercraft and/or the tower. Accordingly, a need exists for a joint for collapsibly attaching a tower of a watercraft which exhibits a low profile when collapsed, provides a high strength joint, and enhances the ease with which the tower can be raised and lowered.